The invention relates to a protective cover for a gun barrel which is arranged over at least a portion of the outer surface of the gun barrel in the form of a cylindrical jacket coaxially mounted thereon. Insulating covers of this type made out of asbestos or other textile material or also made out of a metal pipe are usually mounted over the gun barrel in spaced relationship thereto. Such covers are known and are, for example, described in German published and examined application DE-AS No. 1918422.
Such known covers are designed to protect the gun barrel against the effects of pollution and other external effects producing wear, such as wind, the sun or rain, etc., as well as to avoid the effects of non-uniform temperature changes which occur in the gun barrel during firing. With these known covers there cannot be avoided, the formation of an airgap between the insulating cover and the gun barrel in view of their construction, and this is in some cases even an intended design feature thereof. The air layer in the air gap causes, during the firing, a heat exchange effect on the gun barrel surface and leads to temperature difference in the gun barrel wall over the gun barrel periphery, which in turn leads to a gun barrel distortion and consequently to a lowering of firing and target impact accuracy. The temperature differences in these known installations can be only poorly equalized in the gun barrel coverings or not at all.